This article first appeared in Wealth, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 27, 2026 - May 3, 2026

Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) took home its first-ever wins at the LSEG Lipper Fund Awards in the Best Mixed Assets Group (Provident) category as well as two individual awards.

The firm’s group chief investment officer Hanizan Hood says its best investment decision in 2025 was to increase its exposure in emerging market equities, particularly South Korea and Taiwan.

“This positioning helped offset the weaker domestic environment and amplified our performance. Our conviction stems from confidence in the delivery of artificial intelligence (AI) capital expenditure and sustained bottleneck in the oligopolistic memory market in South Korea as well as precious metals proxy,” she explains.

Hanizan also credits the firm’s nimble approach to asset allocation through a volatile and challenging market, combined with effective security selection across fixed income and equities. This enabled the funds to capture upside from global equity markets — particularly emerging markets, which returned 18.40%.

All this is thanks to ASNB’s investment philosophy, which is rooted in prudence, diversification and identifying long-term compounders. The firm’s philosophy is guided by three pillars: benchmark, fundamental analysis and active fund management.

On the first, Hanizan says the firm’s variable-price funds are built to provide exposure to their respective benchmarks and, more importantly, to outperform them.

Fundamental analysis is for identifying long-term compounders that can weather short-term volatility in the market and continue to grow its earnings over time, which is key in driving long-term sustainable outperformance against the benchmark, adds Hanizan.

“Active management is where investing becomes a craft. Our approach blends the capital appreciation potential of equities with the relative stability of fixed income, seeking to capture upside during market rallies while preserving capital in downturns, resulting in a moderate risk profile aligned with the fund’s objectives and mandate,” she says.

This investment philosophy is also consistent with the award-winning ASN Imbang 1 fund’s mandate to deliver capital growth over a medium- and long-term period, backed by strong governance and disciplined risk management.

“For ASN Imbang 1, this translated into the ability to generate superior blended returns and the potential to deliver capital appreciation while delivering steady income and downside protection,” she notes.

On asset allocation, ASNB was guided by robust fundamental assessment and valuation discipline. And with this, the firm maintained a diversified mix of domestic and global equities.

“In the first half of the year, we were more focused on global equities, specifically in the emerging market space. We tilted back into domestic markets going into the last quarter of the year,” says Hanizan.

In terms of fixed income allocation, Hanizan and her team were more focused on the domestic space in the first half of the year, driven by the expectation of a rate cut. They then slowly progressed to the global space as the valuation of domestic assets peaked.

“Cash levels were maintained at prudent levels — sufficient for liquidity and tactical positioning but not excessive, as markets in 2025 rewarded risk-based allocations. This rebalancing approach ensured the fund remained agile while staying disciplined,” she adds.

ASN Imbang 1’s award-winning performance was anchored by three exposures, which are global equities, selective domestic sectors and stable income-generating instruments, says Hanizan.

On the global equities side, broader markets posted a 9.62% year-to-date return, while emerging market equities rose 18.40% on the back of the de-dollarisation narrative that dominated global equity flows.

South Korea led the pack at 62.51%, delivering strong cyclical and technology-linked gains.

“Our conviction around South Korean memory and AI-related beneficiaries in Taiwan provided strong tailwinds for performance,” says Hanizan.

In regard to domestic equities, the first half of 2025 was centred on stock selection within industrials and healthcare to balance the portfolio against heightened global volatility. In the second half, performance was anchored by a sector allocation swing into large-cap names such as banks and hospitals to ride the strengthening ringgit narrative, says Hanizan.

The fund also benefited from participating in a string of strong domestic initial public offerings, led by THMY Holdings Bhd, which surged 219% post-listing. Other gainers included Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd (131%) and HI Mobility Bhd (62%).

On the fixed income side, a heavier allocation in domestic bonds allowed the fund to capture returns as the BPAM All Bond Index rose 5.70%, supported by rate cut expectations and ringgit strength.

As at end-February, ASN Imbang 1, which generated a cumulative return of 52.81% over 10 years, has the bulk of its portfolio in bonds (38.57%) and financials (18.76%), followed by industrials (7.89%) and IT (7.70%).

According to its fund fact sheet, its top five equity holdings were Malayan Banking Bhd (5.94%), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (5.12%), Public Bank Bhd (3.66%), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (3.36%) and IHH Healthcare Bhd (2.32%).

On the fixed income side, its top bond holdings were papers issued by Benih Restu Bhd (1.95%), Press Metal Bhd (1.63%), Petronas Capital Ltd (1.60%), Lebuhraya DUKE Fasa 3 (1.16%) and the government of Malaysia (1.11%).

Looking ahead, Hanizan says ASNB will adapt its investment approach to the fast-changing geopolitical developments in the Middle East, which have heightened market uncertainties and dispersion.

“Given the market uncertainty, we will prioritise high-quality equities, resilient income-generating assets and diversified global exposures. Managing exposure and position sizing is key,” she says.

This is in addition to continuous monitoring and vigilance on external developments as well as focusing on fundamental analysis and liquidity to manoeuvre short-term volatility, she adds.

Accordingly, ASN Imbang 1 will remain flexible in adjusting sector and geographic allocations in response to market events, balancing between commodity price beneficiaries and key thematic investment ideas such as AI and renewable energy.

“Our core commitment to prudent investment governance and sustainable returns remains unchanged, ensuring we stay aligned with the needs of our 13 million Malaysian investors. This balanced and forward-looking approach positions ASN Imbang 1 to continue delivering consistent long-term value,” says Hanizan.

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